Sat, 04 Apr 2020 06:38:03 -0400WeeblyWed, 08 Jun 2016 19:49:37 GMThttp://www.cfoashland.com/bishops-thoughts/the-spirit-of-the-amalekitesExodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

Victory over the Amalekites 8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. 15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah nissi: 16 For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

Have You Ever Wondered Why Does God Hate The Amalekites??...

The Amalekites were constant thorns in Israel's Side...

When you begin to study it out...

The Amalekites were good at causing people to...A. Doubt the miracles when there is no reason to doubtB. Diminish the miraclesC. Oh that's not that big of a dealD. That would probably have worked itself out anywayE. DO YOU REALLY THINK GOD IS WITH US?

Amalekites killed the weak and the feebleA. Targeted the young, feeble, crippleB. Targeted the eldersC. Should be the pillarsD. Should be the strength

One encounter with the Amalekites cause them to doubt forever when there was absolutely no reason to doubt!

WHEN THEY GOT TO THE PROMISE LAND...A. Surely it was a land that flowed with milk and honeyB. Took 2 men to carry the grapes on their shoulders

No reason to doubt the miracleA. They had the proof of the promise on their shoulders

But because of that Spirit of the Amalekites...A. 10 spies said no wayB. We are grasshoppersC. Wondered in the wilderness for 40 yearsD. Not having obtained the promise

When David came to ZiklagA. Burned to the groundB. Wives and children takenC. David's 2 wives takenD. Ahinoam – Hebrew meant POWER Abigail – Hebrew meant JOY

The Amalekites had stolen David's POWER and JOY...

ONCE AGAIN THATS THAT AMALEKITE SPIRIT...A. WHEN YOU BEGIN TO DOUBT GODB. YOU LOSE YOUR POWER AND YOUR JOY

The Bible says all the men wept all night longA. Until there was no more power to weepB. They wanted to stone David

How did David get out of it?A. Called for the ephod (praise garment)B. David encouraged himself in The LordC. In other words...He took a walk down memory laneD. He remembered how God had been with himE. He stirred up his FAITH

THEN HE ENQUIRED OF THE LORD...A. Shall I pursue?

1 Samuel 30:18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.

1 Samuel 15:1Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. 2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass

7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. 10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, 11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.

When Samuel returned...

12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. 14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

So Samuel asks for the king of the Amalekites to be brought to him...

32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 33 And Samuel said, As the sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. 34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

That spirit of the Amalekites is always trying to bring doubt...

No wonder Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

I believe that Spirit of the AMALEKITE is trying its best to get in our churches...

That's one reason churches aren't experiencing the miraculous like they shouldA. Why no Apostolic demonstrationB. Why Gifts of the Spirit are not operating like they should

If that spirit of the AMALEKITE can get into our spirits...A. Cause us to DOUBT God...

GOD HATES THE SPIRIT OF THE ALALEKITES...

God is moving like never before at CFO..

I feel impressed in the Holy Ghost...A. The devil is going to try and Get you to doubt what happenings around here...B. Try to discredit itC. Tell you to question "Is a God Really Among Us?"D. Can I be used in the gifts?E. Can God really use me?

In Nazareth, Jesus couldn't do many mighty works...A. Because they tried to explain Him anywayB. Because of their unbelief

I'm telling this church...

WE NEED TO KILL THE SPIRIT OF THE AMALEKITES...

WE NEED TO WALK IN APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY...WE NEED THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT TO OPERATE...WE NEED APOSTOLIC DEMONSTRATION...WE NEED FIVE FOLD MINISTRY...

We can't allow disbelief...We can't all explaining away of what a God did...

We need to let Jesus work...]]>Tue, 09 Feb 2016 15:18:14 GMThttp://www.cfoashland.com/bishops-thoughts/take-off-the-maskLiving for God and eventually hearing Jesus say "Well done thou good and faithful servant" is going to take a lot of work and being totally honest with ourselves and others is quite a challenge.Let me give you a word picture that might help in illustrating this. We all have a front stage life and a back stage life. Front stage is the public world of ministry and living for God. It’s where we’re noticed, where the spotlight is on us, where people applaud and affirm us. It’s where we cast vision, inspire others, and lead with skill. Front stage is all about doing.But we also have a backstage life, and the two are connected. If we neglect the backstage, eventually the front stage will fall apart. While the front stage is the public world of leadership, the backstage is the private world of the leader. The back stage is private, always dark, and usually messy. The audience isn’t allowed there. Backstage has no spotlight and no glory. Backstage is all about “being.As ministry leaders, we know how to have front-stage conversations. We can easily converse about attendance and sermons and worship planning and outreach events and volunteers. But where is the conversation about our backstage life? Who is talking to you about you?Backstage conversations don’t come naturally to most of us. As leaders in the kingdom we may feel a subtle pressure to have it all together. We might even feel the pressure to preach or live like we have it all together. Talking honestly about the messiness of our private, interior world feels risky. It’s safer to limit the conversation to the front stage. Or we may be so focused on the vision of growing our church that our back stage life isn’t even on our radar. That was true for me for much of my life. I was just so focused on doing and leading and achieving and building that I never gave any thought to my interior life.When the Wesleyan bands (small groups) got together, the first thing they asked each other was a backstage question: “How is it with your soul?” In forty years of following Jesus I don’t think anyone has ever asked me that question.For most of our lives it is so easy to neglect our backstage lives, the care of my soul. After all, front stage is where the action is. But I am learning that the key to the Apostolic life is found backstage, and the only way to be healthy is to pay attention to it. Staying in love with Jesus is a backstage issue.This is exactly what Jesus taught—that that the Christian life is inside out, that the private informs the public. He taught that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. He taught that the root (backstage) determines the fruit (front stage).A good place to start is acknowledging that many of us in leadership have neglected our backstage. Living only for the front stage will not sustain you in ministry for the long haul.We get up to speak and deep down we know we’re teaching about a life we aren’t living. When ministry needs present themselves, we find ourselves not caring like we used to. Out of obligation and “doing our job,” we go through the motions but our heart isn’t really in it.We have this gnawing feeling in our gut that something is missing. This isn’t how it was supposed to be. We find ourselves with less joy and more frustration; less compassion and more cynicism. Some days we dream of getting out. And, if the truth were known, we’re not hiding it as well as we think. Those closest to us are beginning to see it.That’s why it’s so important to learn the art of soul care. For some of us, simply acknowledging we have a soul that needs to be cared for is the first step. One of the most helpful practices we can do is reading great books that feed our soul (backstage)Our soul is far and away the most valuable possession we have. Just as you need to tend to your body to be physically healthy, you have to tend to you spiritual being if you want to be saved!So take off the mask, be real, don't worry about what others think. We all have problems and issues. Make sure that all is well with your soul and one day we will all walk on streets of gold!]]>Thu, 24 Dec 2015 20:12:10 GMThttp://www.cfoashland.com/bishops-thoughts/where-is-the-line-to-see-jesusI recently decided to brave our local mall during this time of the year. I was going in to pick up something for my mother in law. As we were headed to the store, I noticed a huge line that had formed out in the hallway. There were eagerly awaiting parents who were standing in line with their children. There were infants and toddlers, big and little kids, and several nationalities that were anxiously awaiting there time with "The Man", Santa Clause! They had their cameras waiting. They were so excited. All of this preparation to see Santa! I bet the line took over 30 minutes and wrapped around the corner and down the mall. Then it hit me. WHERE IS THE LINE TO SEE JESUS!!There are so many hurting, lonely, and depressed people out there in the world. Especially during this time of the year. They are desperately needing to find some answers to their life dilemma. They need REAL answers to their REAL PROBLEMS! They don't need religion or just another church to go to! They need to find JESUS!He alone is the way maker. It makes me sad to see people shipwreck their lives and also the lives of their families. I wish that they had the same desire to seek Jesus as they did Santa Clause! I'm sure that there lives would be so much better!!Where is the line to see Jesus!]]>